Australia Rolls-Out New Sanctions Targeting 110 Russian MPs, Separatists

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (on screen) addresses the Australian Parliament in the House of Representatives chamber via a video link in Canberra, Australia, on March 31, 2022. (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)

The Australian government has continued pressuring Russia authorities following the announcement of a tranche of sanctions targeting another 110 individuals, including Ukrainian separatists from the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and members of the Russian Duma or Parliament.

In reiterating Australia’s unwavering support for Ukraine, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said 34 sanctioned Ukrainians were senior representatives of the separatist “People’s Council of the People’s Republic of Donetsk” and “People’s Council of the People’s Republic of Luhansk.”

The latest action brings the total number of individuals sanctioned by the Australian government to 812. A further 47 entities have been sanctioned.

“These individuals have violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine through their assertion of governmental authority over areas of Ukraine without the Ukrainian government’s authorisation,” DFAT said in a release on May 4.

The department stated that the two separatist republics were not “states” under international law.

Smoke rises from the grounds of the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 29, 2022, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. (Andrey Borodulin/AFP via Getty Images)

Over 76 members of the Russian Duma have also been targeted by the Australian government, with DFAT noting that some individuals were included after voting in favour of a resolution calling for President Vladimir Putin to recognise Donetsk and Luhansk as independent regions.

Others were chosen due to their support for ratifying one or both treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between the Russian Federation and the two breakaway regions.

DFAT also singled out Russian MP Oleg Matveichev for what it termed “dissemination of disinformation and propaganda” after Matveichev argued that Western nations should pay reparations for harm caused by the economic sanctions and the war itself.

The latest move comes after the Australian government announced it would supply a further $26.7 million (US$19.1 million) worth of military assistance, including six M777 lightweight towed howitzers along with ammunition, to bolster the country’s resistance to Russia’s “brutal, unrelenting and illegal” invasion.

The Australian Government is providing six M777 155mm, lightweight, towed howitzers and 155mm howitzer ammunition to support the Government of Ukraine, An M777 howitzer from 1st Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, is prepared for transportation before being loaded onto a truck at Gallipoli Barracks, on April 27, in Brisbane, Australia. ( Major Roger Brennan, Australian Defence Forces)

“Australia stands with the people of Ukraine and again calls on Russia to cease its unprovoked, unjust, and illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Defence Minister Peter Dutton said in a joint release on April 27.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States and its allies of seeking to rule the world.

Speaking on Russian state television’s Channel 1, Lavrov, on April 26, accused the West of no longer recognising international law or recognised the sovereign equality of all states, despite Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine’s sovereign territory.

FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference following talks with President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Peter Maurer in Moscow, Russia, on March 24, 2022. Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool via REUTERS

“They are trying to split the entire architecture that has been taking shape for many decades and based on consensus, the participation of all the main, major players, including the United States, Russia, India, Japan, China, Australia,” he said.

“They openly declare that they will be in charge, that NATO has every right to do what it wants,” the Russian foreign minister said. “Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg can declare that NATO bears a global responsibility for security throughout the world, including in the Indo-Pacific region.”